Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler with Sourdough Biscuit Topping

Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler

Peach season is a lovely time of year! This year we were in Austin, Texas, at the height of peach season. Our Aunt and Uncle knew of this great roadside farm peach stand in Fredericksburg, so we drove out and picked up a bunch of farm-fresh peaches. The peaches weren’t completely ripe when we bought them, so we waited to eat them until we arrived back in Louisiana, and they were perfect! Some of the peaches got a little soft, so the best thing to do was to make an old fashioned peach cobbler!

Is This Peach Cobbler Healthy?

Yes! As far as cobbler goes, this is a healthy version. I use mostly maple syrup to sweeten this recipe, which is easier to digest than other sugar forms.

This recipe has only simple, real-food ingredients, and I think anything made completely from scratch with quality ingredients is healthy. Also, the topping is sourdough! Sourdough is more nutritious and easier to digest than other toppings made from flour. You can read more about sourdough digestibility in this blog post.

Cast Iron Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler

I’m from south Louisiana, and I believe cobbler should always be made in a cast iron skillet! I have a medium Lodge cast iron skillet, 10 inches in diameter, which I use for basically everything, and it was perfect for this cobbler too.

I say to use five cups of chopped peaches in this recipe, but you can use more if you want. Just fill the skillet up with diced peaches, and just be sure to leave about an inch of room on the top for the biscuit topping.

Making Peach Cobbler with Sourdough Biscuits

I also believe the best cobbler topping is biscuits… especially sourdough biscuits! A cobbler is a fruit dessert made with a top crust of pie dough or biscuit dough but no bottom crust. I think that a cobbler made with pie crust is just a bottomless pie. Cobbler should always be topped with flaky, crumbly biscuit dough!

Sourdough Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler

You shouldn’t have any trouble with this simple sourdough peach cobbler recipe. Here are my top tips:

1. Start the biscuit dough one day before you plan to serve the cobbler. So if you want the cobbler for a Saturday lunch BBQ, start the dough Friday morning.
2. The dough requires no attention while it ferments.
3. Don’t get concerned during phase two of the biscuit dough. It will seem like the dough is stiff and weird, and challenging to combine. This is what you should expect. Just keep kneading and squeezing the dough between your fingers (get your arm workout in) until it comes together. It’s okay to take a minute break and return to it.
4. All ovens are different, so start with 20 minutes of baking, then keep checking the top of the cobbler. It is done when the biscuits are golden brown. (see the pictures above)

Sourdough Discard

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Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler with Sourdough Biscuit Topping

This old fashioned Peach Cobbler with sourdough biscuits on top is the best peach cobbler you will ever make! The sourdough biscuit topping needs to be prepared a day in advanced, but it is so worth the extra wait. There are no shortcuts in this fantastic recipe. We use fresh peaches and a from-scratch sourdough biscuit topping. It is absolutely delicious and best served warm with vanilla ice cream on top.

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• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients

Biscuit Topping Dough Part 1

• 2 cups organic bread flour
• 3/4 cup active sourdough starter
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup organic maple syrup

Biscuit Topping Dough Part 2

• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup organic cane sugar

Peach Cobbler

• 5 to 6 cups chopped peaches
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup maple syrup

Instructions

Biscuit topping dough part 1 (begin one day before you plan to serve the cobbler)

1. Add the flour, sourdough starter, melted coconut oil, and maple syrup to a bowl and mix well, until evenly combined. It will be a firm and dense dough ball that is somewhat tough to knead.
2. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or reusable bees wrap, and let sit covered for 24 hours

Biscuit topping dough part 2

1. After the dough has fermented, preheat oven to 350.
2. Take the hard dough ball and cut it up into tiny pieces.
3. To a separate bowl add 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup cream and 1/4 cup organic cane sugar. Whisk gently until just combined. Add mixture to the sourdough mixture and combine well.
4. Combining the dough with the cream mixture takes work, it should be tough to do, and the dough will come together after about 5 minutes of vigorous hand mixing. The dough should be chunky and lumpy but it should hold together in a dough ball when you are finished mixing.

Assemble the cobbler.

1. Chop about 10 peaches, peeling optional (should be about 4-5 cups chopped) and add to a large cast iron skillet.
2. Sprinkle 2 tsp cinnamon over peaches and add 4 Tbsp butter, 2 Tbsp flour, and 1/3 cup maple syrup.
3. Place in a 350° F oven and bake for about 10 minutes, until the butter is melted, meanwhile work on the biscuit dough.
4. Turn biscuit dough out on a well floured surface and roll it out or pat it out to about a half-inch thickness.
5. Cut the dough using biscuit cutter or a wide mouth mason jar. You can also just cut it into squares or pull it apart into random chunky shapes.
6. Pull the peaches out of the oven and stir to coat all the peaches in the butter and melted sugar. It should somewhat thick from the flour.
7. Place biscuit topping on top of the peaches, it’s okay if all the dough overlaps, and place back in the oven.
8. Bake for 20-40 minutes, or until the biscuits start to turn golden in color.
9. Allow to rest for 20 minutes before serving. Top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Kaitlynn Fenley Author, Educator, Food Microbiologist

Kaitlynn is a food microbiologist and fermentation expert teaching people how to ferment foods and drinks at home.

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